Immigrants who can’t afford to feed their families are facing hunger rather than accepting benefits that rumors tell them could put their hopes of becoming citizens in jeopardy, according to immigration attorneys and those who work with food benefits. “We have asylum seekers who are in homeless shelters and they haven’t accessed benefits because they’re afraid it’ll affect their case,”...
San Francisco’s Latino population struggles disproportionately in key areas that determine success and stability, said a coalition of nonprofits that serve low-income Latino communities around the city. The groups, under the name San Francisco Latino Parity and Equity Coalition, are calling for more funding to go to services for struggling Latino families. The coalition held a press conference Wednesday highlighting...
At a meeting Monday night, service providers for the city’s Latino and immigrant populations said fear of deportation and family de-stabilization have risen while the resources to deal with both have diminished. “Our attorneys are doing quasi-social work,” said Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, executive director of the Mission-based Central American Resource Center or CARECEN, a nonprofit that provides immigration legal services to...
In a demonstration of solidarity with worker and immigrant rights activists around the nation, protesters streamed onto Market Street and into Civic Center Plaza on Monday to mark May Day, also known as International Workers Day. Locally, it was also pronounced a Day Without Immigrants to protest federal immigration policies. Thousands marched down Market Street, according to police estimates, and hundreds...
On a day workers around the world have traditionally marked as a day to protest for labor rights, immigrants have added their voices, or rather their absence, to make a point. On May 1, or May Day, many around the Bay Area and the Mission closed up shop for a day without immigrants. “I want to support my community,” said Robert Sanchez,...
Listen Local is Mission Local’s biweekly radio program. We broadcast live online at BFF.fm every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 10:00. Saira Hussain, a staff attorney at the Asian Americans Advancing Justice / Asian Law Caucus, joins us to go into the details of what being a Sanctuary City means, specifically in San Francisco. No, it doesn’t mean ICE can’t...
Mexican presidential hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador made an appearance in the Mission District Monday evening, drawing a crowd of more than 200 supporters who welcomed him to the Grand Theater, now Gray Area, on Mission Street with cheers, chants, and signs. “Es un honor luchar con Obrador,” they chanted, or, “It’s an honor to fight with Obrador.” With two...
Music samples in this story are played and recorded by Matt Rupert from a theme and variations called Aubada composed by Suad Bushnaq. Inside a music center called “Little Mission Studio” on a semi-industrial block of Hampshire Street, proprietors Claire Plumb and Matt Rupert are exploring big themes. Their upcoming concert series, UnRest, takes direct aim at the narratives of...
With immigration enforcement rapidly becoming more aggressive, immigrants have a lot of questions and concerns, but they should be cautious about who they turn to for help, warns one immigration lawyer. “There’s just people out there who are willing to scam or take advantage of the fear that people are experiencing right now,” said attorney Veronica B. Guinto at an...
Immigration nonprofits have sprung into action to respond to President Donald Trump’s threats to increase deportations, and are now offering a 24-hour hotline in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Anyone who sees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in San Francisco can call (415) 200-1548 at any time. A call to the hotline initiates a process that includes nonprofits sending...
The Mission’s Episcopal Church of St. John’s the Evangelist on Wednesday joined a number of churches in the San Francisco area and beyond in vowing to protect their immigrant community from deportation. “We’ve given sanctuary to many over the years,” said father Richard Smith, St. John’s vicar, to a group of some 50 community members gathered in front of two...
A Mission District coalition of activist organizations calling itself the “Coalición Primero de Mayo,” or the May 1 Coalition marked Presidents’ Day by announcing its plans for another Day Without Immigrants on May 1. The day will also include a march. The coalition called on supporters to resist by not attending work, going to work, or doing any shopping. ...
San Francisco leaders on Thursday stalled legislation that would fund a team of attorneys working out of the Public Defender’s office who are specialized in defending detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings. The legislation, introduced by Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, would allow the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office to create 13 new positions, including seven attorneys and six support staff, with...
While most stores in the Mission District remained open Thursday, dozens made it clear on handmade signs taped to shuttered storefronts that they were willing to forgo profits for a day to show support for the immigrant community. The closings were part of a nationwide protest, A Day Without Immigrants, meant to underscore the importance of the country’s more than...
Some 40 people gathered on a sliver of sidewalk outside of the Immigrant Worker Power Center at 3358 Cesar Chavez St. to celebrate the center’s reopening following heavy renovations Thursday morning. The center has served as a hub for organizing work in the workers and immigrant rights movements and as a vocational training facility, and houses the 25-year-old collective of immigrant workers known...
